why would an air contioner have a smell?

Question

when i turn on my air contioner it has a urine smell and i have cleaned the filter. what can cause this? it is located on the second floor of my house so i dont think it is from outside

this is a window air condioner. i take it out during the winter and store it in a closet. there are no rats in my house.

also, the unit is only a couple of years old

Answer 1

Air conditioners can develop odors from the air going through the coils and the water condensing on the coils laying in the drain pan mixing together breeding mold and mildew. The odor that you are smelling may be an odor like urine but could be from a mixture of any number of things. You would not be getting any odor from the outside unless there is a vent opened and you should not be running it on cool with the vent opened anyway.You can clean the unit out with a little bit of some spray cleaner and the garden hose.

Take the unit outside and spray the coils with the spray cleaner and let soak for a couple minutes and rinse it out with the hose spraying through the coils and into the air outlet. Spray the condenser coils also to get rid of any dirt that may have built up on the inside of them. Empty all of the water out of the unit by laying it over on it's back, on it's front. on it's sides and on it's top and then allow an hour for things to dry out before reinstalling it and connecting the power.

Answer 2

I'm not sure but I think that animals are attracted to air conditioners for some reason .
And I think they like to mark them with urine.This
has happened several times to my sister.The neighborhood cats would jump under the bottom of her car and spray all over the place and we couldn't turn the air on because it smelled so bad.And they spray out door a/c units to whether they are window units or central.That's probably why your a/c is smelling.
Take the a/c out side and take it apart and you can spray it with 409 then rinse it.But be sure
to let it air dry for a long time.Then after putting it back in put in a new filter.

Answer 3

You probably need to clean and/or replace the filter. Depending on where you bought the AC unit. a cleaning service is part of the agreement (Sears in particular) Moisture gets in the filter during use and when stored can build up mold in the filter. This will make the unit smell when turned on. AC units needs to be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after storage because of the molds, pollens and other debris left in the filter from the season of use.

Answer 4

the smell is probably in the ducts and on the evaporator coil. First try spraying a deodorizer into the air return while the unit is running. If that doesn't work or only works a short while consider having your ducts cleaned by a professional

Answer 5

Maybe the evaporator has urine on it, more likely mold or mildew from condensation. Make sure the condensation has a clean place to drain from. I think the may sell a spray cleaner to spray on the evaporator coil. Check a hardware store and follow the instructions on the cleaner. I think it has to be done outdoors with pleny of fresh air around when you use the cleaner.

Answer 6

Some air conditioners need to have their water
changed each year. If it's really old, maybe it's a sign that the motor is going to fail. Did you check for mold or bird droppings from a nest
underneath the unit?

Answer 7

1. If the drain is plugged outside with leaves, etc.

2. If the air outside is cooler than the air, the condensation forming on the coil has that mildewy smell.

Answer 8

Wrong. If you remove the AC for the winter, some animals will pee on it. If you leave it in the window all year long, squirrels raccons will get up there and sleep on the unit for the heat. They will pee on it as well. If you can, spray some vinegar on the coils and in the vents.

Answer 9

A mouse or squirrel has gone pee pee in there...the drip pan has mil due so take an" turn it off" use bleach an water in the drip pan it will run out the back if this does not work pull it an clean the nest out

Answer 10

Buy another filter one with a scent to it. Or you may have rats in the system who are going number #1 in there... And the rats could have gotten in there from the attic...